This invention relates to containers, and more particularly to containers for dispensing pastes, gels, creams and other products hereinafter referred to as liquids.
It is often desirable to be able to dispense controlled quantities of liquid from an elongate container, tube or the like through an outlet in the cap of the container at an angle to the direction of flow of liquid from the container to the cap, rather than through an outlet in the top of the container, and in a wiping action directly onto the skin, for example the arm or leg, for subsequent rubbing into the skin for treatment purposes.
Such a wiping action is most conveniently achieved by using a container having a relatively long neck and a narrower cap to provide an ergonomic profile to the container.
However, the number of such containers available with such angled side outlets is limited, while those that are currently available suffer from a number of disadvantages, not the least of which are that the dispensing mechanisms thereof are of relatively complex construction and are expensive to manufacture.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,638 discloses a container having a nozzle provided with an outlet which dispenses the contents of the associated container in a direction perpendicular to the direction of feed of the content of the container to the nozzle and under the control of a flexible diaphragm. However, the nozzle incorporates a tortuous series of channels/passageways for the flow of fluid to the outlet, while the diaphragm is integral with, or connected to, a piston of complex configuration urged by a spring into a normal rest position sealing the outlet. Clearly such an arrangement is expensive to manufacture and requires careful manual assembly, while it has also been found to suffer from hygiene problems.
DE 29506682 U1 discloses a container having an outlet the longitudinal axis of which intersects the longitudinal axis of the container at an acute angle, typically 30xc2x0.
However, the container incorporates a pump for dispensing liquid through the outlet, and is of relatively complex internal construction not suited to an ergonomic profile with a relatively long neck and a narrow cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,311 discloses a container with a side outlet, dispensing from the outlet being under the control of a valve having a diaphragm portion mounted in a groove in the head of the container and held in a closed position by a movable cap release of which allows dispensing of liquid through the outlet.
Such a container suffers from a number of disadvantages not the least of which are the complex construction and difficulty of assembly, while dispensing requires movement of the cap to a release position to permit displacement of the valve from the outlet on squeezing of the associated container.
Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,311, CH 225084 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,170,588 all of which disclose containers with outlets in the sides thereof, but all of which are also of relatively complex construction, difficult to manufacture and difficult to assemble.
It would be desirable to be able to provide a container capable of controlled dispensing of liquid from a side outlet therein, and of a simpler, more hygienic construction and more economically manufactured than heretofore, preferably suitable for automated assembly to enable efficient high volume production.
According to the present invention there is provided a container comprising a body member for containing liquid and a neck at one end thereof through which liquid flows on pressurization of the interior of the body member, and a closure for the body member including a cap located on the neck of the body member and having an outlet therein for dispensing therethrough liquid flowing through the neck of the body member, and a control valve located within the cap for controlling the dispensing of liquid flowing from the body member to the outlet from the cap, the control valve being a one piece plastic moulding including a diaphragm portion and a nose portion extending from one side of said diaphragm portion, and having a rest position in which the nose portion engages in, to seal, the outlet from the cap, the outlet being in one sidewall of the cap, the cap including an annular seating for the control valve formed on or mounted on a sidewall of the cap opposite that in which the outlet is provided, the arrangement being such that, on pressurization of the interior of the body member, liquid from the body member flows through the neck of the body member into the cap to engage with the one side of the diaphragm portion to distort said diaphragm portion whereby the nose portion of the valve is displaced from the outlet and liquid is dispensed therethrough, and, on subsequent release of pressure from the interior of the body member, the control valve returns, under the influence of its inherent resiliency and atmospheric pressure, to its rest position with the nose portion thereof seating in, to seal, the outlet, characterized in that the seating projects inwardly of the cap from said opposed sidewall towards the outlet and is of hollow, open-ended generally cylindrical shape the central axis of which extends through the outlet in the cap and the diameter of which is substantially equal to that of the diaphragm portion of the control valve, the control valve being mounted on the end of the seating remote from said opposite sidewall with the diaphragm portion thereof sealing said end of the seating and whereby the other side of the diaphragm portion remote from the nose portion is subjected to atmospheric pressure.
It will be appreciated that, with such an arrangement, the closure for the body member can be of extremely simple construction and can comprise a minimal number of individual components which can be readily manufactured by plastic moulding techniques, and automatically assembled.
In particular the provision of a seating having a diameter substantially equal to that of the diaphragm portion of the control valve ensures that the diaphragm portion is not impeded in any way by the cap on distortion of the diaphragm portion to enable dispensing of liquid from the container, and also facilitates overmoulding of the control valve on the seating, in that one of the metal dies or inserts associated with the moulding process can readily be passed through the hollow bore of the seating from the exterior of the closure.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outlet is formed in a plate portion movable relative to the remainder of the cap between a normal position completing the cap and a displaced position providing access to the interior of the cap and to the control valve.
The plate portion may be integrally moulded with the remainder of the cap and movable relative thereto by means of a hinge, or may be separate from the remainder of the cap and a snap fit into an associated aperture in the remainder of the cap to complete assembly of the container and to create a product flow chamber therein.
It will be appreciated that the provision of the open-ended seating in combination with the movable plate portion permits ready overmoulding of the control valve on the seating, in that the opposed metal dies or inserts for forming the valve can be inserted one through the seating and the other through the open plate portion.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the annular seating is separate from, and is a push-fit into a corresponding aperture in, the cap, the control valve seating on, to seal the seating.
With such an arrangement, the control valve can be sealingly mounted on the seating prior to location of the seating in the cap, in particular the control valve can be overmoulded on the seating prior to said location.
The control valve may include a cylindrical skirt portion one end of which is closed by the other side of the diaphragm portion remote from the nose portion, the skirt portion surrounding the seating.
The closure may include a plug member adapted to be a friction fit within the cap to engage the other side of the diaphragm portion of the control valve remote from the nose portion and to retain the nose portion in its rest position engaging in, to seal, the outlet, such an arrangement serving to prevent inadvertent dispensing from the container.
Conveniently, the plug member is integrally moulded with the cap and is pivotal relative thereto about a reduced thickness hinge between an operative position engaging the diaphragm portion of the valve and a released position displaced from the control valve.
The closure may be integrally moulded with the body member to form a continuation of the neck of said body member.